"Freedom of Speech Protection Act"; create.

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To: Judiciary A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Hurst

HOUSE BILL NO. 1476

AN ACT TO CREATE THE "FREEDOM OF SPEECH PROTECTION ACT"; TO 1
PROVIDE DEFINITIONS FOR THE ACT; TO LIST THE GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES 2
THAT THE ACT DOES AND DOES NOT APPLY TO; TO PROVIDE TIMELINES FOR 3
RESPONDING TO ANY CAUSE OF ACTION; TO AUTHORIZE THE MOVING PARTY 4
TO APPEAL; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 95-1-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 5
1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR CIVIL ACTIONS FOR DEFAMATION OF 6
PUBLICATION, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 8
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 9
"Freedom of Speech Protection Act". 10
SECTION 2. (1) For purposes of this act, the following 11
words shall have the meanings described herein: 12
(a) "Goods or services" does not mean the creation, 13
dissemination, exhibition, or advertisement or similar promotion 14
of a dramatic, literary, musical, political, journalistic, or 15
artistic work. 16
(b) "Governmental unit" means a public corporation or 17
government or governmental subdivision, agency, or 18
instrumentality. 19
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(c) "Person" means an individual, estate, trust, 20
partnership, business or nonprofit entity, governmental unit, or 21
other legal entity. 22
(2) (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c), this 23
act applies to any cause of action asserted in a civil action 24
against a person based on the person's: 25
(i) Communication in a legislative, executive, 26
judicial, administrative, or other governmental proceeding; 27
(ii) Communication on an issue under consideration 28
or review in a legislative, executive, judicial, administrative, 29
or other governmental proceeding; or 30
(b) Exercise of the right of freedom of speech or of 31
the press, the right to assemble or petition, or the right of 32
association, is guaranteed by the United States Constitution or 33
the Mississippi Constitution, on any matter of public concern. 34
(c) This act shall not apply to any cause of action 35
asserted: 36
(i) Against a governmental unit or an employee or 37
agent of a governmental unit acting or purporting to act in an 38
official capacity; 39
(ii) By a governmental unit or an employee or 40
agent of a governmental unit acting in an official capacity to 41
enforce a law to protect against an imminent threat to public 42
health or safety; or 43
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(iii) Against a person primarily engaged in the 44
business of selling or leasing goods or services if the cause of 45
action arises out of a communication related to the person's sale 46
or lease of the goods or services. 47
SECTION 3. Not later than sixty (60) days after a party is 48
served with a complaint, petition, crossclaim, counterclaim, 49
third-party claim, or other pleading that asserts a cause of 50
action to which this act applies, or at a later time on a showing 51
of good cause, the party may file a special motion for expedited 52
relief to dismiss the cause of action or any or part of the 53
action. 54
SECTION 4. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this act, on 55
the filing of the special motion filed under the authority of 56
Section 3 of this act: 57
(a) All other proceedings between the moving party and 58
responding party, including discovery and a pending hearing or 59
motion, are stayed; and 60
(b) On motion by the moving party, the court may stay a 61
hearing or motion involving another party, or discovery by another 62
party, if the hearing or ruling on the motion would adjudicate, or 63
the discovery would relate to, an issue material to the motion 64
under Section 3. 65
(2) A stay granted under paragraph (1)(a) shall remain in 66
effect until entry of an order ruling on the special motion filed 67
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under Section 3 of this act, and expiration of the time under 68
Section 9 of this act for the moving party to appeal the order. 69
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this act, if a party 70
appeals from an order ruling on a motion under Section 3, all 71
proceedings between all parties in the action are stayed. The 72
stay shall remain in effect until the conclusion of the appeal. 73
(4) During a stay granted under subsection (1), the court 74
may allow limited discovery if a party shows that specific 75
information is necessary to establish whether a party has 76
satisfied or failed to satisfy a burden under Section 7 of this 77
act and the information is not reasonably available unless 78
discovery is allowed. 79
(5) A motion filed under Section 10 of this act for costs, 80
attorney's fees, and expenses is not subject to a stay under this 81
section. 82
(6) A stay under this section shall not affect a party's 83
ability voluntarily to dismiss a cause of action or part of a 84
cause of action or move to sever a cause of action. 85
(7) During a stay under this section, the court for good 86
cause may hear and rule on: 87
(a) A motion unrelated to the motion under Section 3; 88
and 89
(b) A motion seeking a special or preliminary 90
injunction to protect against an imminent threat to public health 91
or safety. 92
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SECTION 5. (1) The court shall have the hearing to address 93
the special motion filed under Section 3 not later than sixty (60) 94
days after filing of the motion, unless the court orders a later 95
hearing: 96
(a) To allow discovery under Section 4 of this act; or 97
(b) For other good cause. 98
(2) If the court orders a later hearing under subsection 99
(1)(a) of this section, the court shall hear the special motion 100
not later than sixty (60) days after the court order allowing the 101
discovery, unless the court orders a later hearing. 102
SECTION 6. In ruling on a motion under Section 3, the court 103
shall consider the pleadings, the motion, any reply or response to 104
the motion, and any evidence that could be considered in ruling on 105
a motion for summary judgment under the Mississippi Rules of Civil 106
Procedure. 107
SECTION 7. (1) In ruling on the special motion filed under 108
Section 3, the court shall dismiss with prejudice a cause of 109
action, or part of a cause of action, if: 110
(a) The moving party establishes under Section 2(b) 111
that this act applies; 112
(b) The responding party fails to establish under 113
Section 2(c) that this act does not apply; and 114
(c) Either: 115
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(i) The responding party fails to establish a 116
prima facie case as to each essential element of the cause of 117
action; or 118
(ii) The moving party establishes that: 119
1. The responding party failed to state a 120
[cause of action] upon which relief can be granted; or 121
2. There is no genuine issue as to any 122
material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a 123
matter of law on the cause of action or part of the cause of 124
action. 125
(2) A voluntary dismissal without prejudice of a responding 126
party's cause of action, or part of a cause of action, that is the 127
subject of a special motion under Section 3 does not affect a 128
moving party's right to obtain a ruling on the motion and seek 129
costs, attorney's fees, and expenses under Section 10. 130
(3) A voluntary dismissal with prejudice of a responding 131
party's cause of action, or part of a cause of action, that is the 132
subject of a special motion under Section 3 establishes for the 133
purpose of Section 10 that the moving party prevailed on the 134
motion. 135
SECTION 8. The court shall rule on a special motion filed 136
under the authority of Section 3 not later than sixty (60) days 137
after a hearing under Section 5. 138
SECTION 9. A moving party may appeal as a matter of right 139
from an order denying, in whole or in part, a special motion filed 140
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under Section 3. The appeal must be filed not later than 141
twenty-one (21) days after entry of the order. 142
SECTION 10. On a special motion filed under the authority 143
authorized in Section 3, the court shall award court costs, 144
reasonable attorney's fees, and reasonable litigation expenses 145
related to the motion: 146
(a) To the moving party if the moving party prevails on 147
the motion; or 148
(b) To the responding party if the responding party 149
prevails on the motion and the court finds that the motion was 150
frivolous or filed solely with intent to delay the proceeding. 151
SECTION 11. This act must be broadly construed and applied 152
to protect the exercise of the right of freedom of speech and of 153
the press, the right to assemble and petition, and the right of 154
association, guaranteed by the United States Constitution or the 155
Mississippi Constitution. 156
SECTION 12. In applying and construing this uniform act, 157
consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of 158
the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact 159
it. 160
SECTION 13. This act applies to a civil action filed or 161
cause of action asserted in a civil action on or after the 162
effective date of this act. 163
SECTION 14. If any provision of this act or its application 164
to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does 165
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not affect other provisions or applications of this act which can 166
be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and 167
to this end the provisions of this act are severable. 168
SECTION 15. Section 95-1-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 169
brought forward as follows: 170
95-1-5. (1) Before any civil action is brought for 171
publication, in a newspaper domiciled and published in this state 172
or authorized to do business in Mississippi so as to be subject to 173
the jurisdiction of the courts of this state, of a libel, or 174
against any radio or television station domiciled in this state, 175
the plaintiff shall, at least ten (10) days before instituting any 176
such action, serve notice in writing on the defendant at its 177
regular place of business, specifying the article, broadcast or 178
telecast, and the statements therein, which he alleges to be false 179
and defamatory. 180
(2) If it appears upon the trial that said article was 181
published, broadcast or telecast in good faith, that its falsity 182
was due to an honest mistake of the facts, and there were 183
reasonable grounds for believing that the statements in said 184
article, broadcast or telecast were true, and that within ten (10) 185
days after the service of said notice a full and fair correction, 186
apology and retraction was published in the same edition or 187
corresponding issues of the newspaper in which said article 188
appeared, and in as conspicuous place and type as was said 189
original article, or was broadcast or telecast under like 190
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ST: "Freedom of Speech Protection Act"; create.
conditions correcting an honest mistake, and if the jury shall so 191
find, the plaintiff in such case shall recover only actual 192
damages. The burden of proof of the foregoing facts shall be 193
affirmative defenses of the defendant and pled as such. 194
(3) This section shall not apply to any publication 195
concerning a candidate for public office made within ten (10) days 196
of any primary, general or special election in which such 197
candidate's candidacy for or election to public office is to be 198
determined, and this section shall not apply to any editorial or 199
to any regularly published column in which matters of opinions are 200
expressed. 201
SECTION 16. This act shall take effect and be in force from 202
and after July 1, 2026. 203